Fast-moving May 2022

 OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

Our Meet this May was held on Sunday 22nd in order to avoid the mix of extended holidays and preparations for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

It was a very fine day, fresh after rain on Friday morning. Birdsong, new fledgelings, flowers, trees in leaf and fruits forming as soon as blossom was over on the fruit trees made the setting perfect for spring fast becoming summer. The abundance of wild flowers and trees with blossom so far this year give us hope for a good summer -at least more fruitful than last year!

The sequence of wild plants flowering this year has left no gaps, benefitting the sequences of visiting invertebrates, especially bees.

Buttercups cover every verge and unmown area of grass this spring

provided the sun reaches the ground. Some years we hardly see any....

but they are there nevertheless.

Fortunately they were not trodden down or obscured by litter in most places but the task of protecting all wild flowers remains - maybe there is a hint of a new attitude towards wild living things however. We hope it lasts.

See next post for our June meet held on 26th June 

Our next scheduled meet is on Sunday 31st July 2022

Rare April Showers unseen - our Meet on April 24th 2022

 OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

Heavy overnight rain showers preceded our Meet on 24th April leaving the earth fresh and vegetation damp, perfect for foraging birds which are nesting all along the banks and riverside trees. Common birds were all seen and heard: Nuthatch, Blackcap, Robins, Blue ts, Great Ts, Dunnock, Chiffchaffs, Blackbirds Song Thrush, House Sparrows and Woodpigeons. It was agreed, comparing notes, that at least one Red Kite is now an established visitor to our area, flying in from the West across the A24. Common Buzzards and Kestrels have been around for many years.

This Crab Apple tree has produced fruits since it was planted a

few years ago and surprised us with its late ripening bright red fruits

much loved by Blackbirds. a reliable source of sustenance in late

winter when food is scarce. Last autumn fruits were taken very fast by 

winter migrants due to a general scarcity everywhere but Blackbirds 

were still finding fruits high up in this tree in spring.

It has much more blossom this year and was the first tree to flower.

With the good weather this year came the litter, dropped at random by picnic

groups, walkers and those taking exercise. However the turnout to deal with

the problem was excellent and pristine verges were left to the butterflies,

particularly Orange Tips at present, with their food plant, Cuckooflower, flowering

very well so far this Spring.

Please note that our May meet will be held a week early, on Sunday 22nd May 2022

to allow for extended holidays and Jubilee celebrations at the beginning of June.

British Summertime Begins 2022

 OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

British Summertime began on Sunday 27th March this year, with many signs of Spring rather than summer. It was a cloudy, cool start becoming warmer later, with a North Easterly wind. Robins and Dunnock were singing strongly and Nuthatches were calling from the Oaks. A Green Woodpecker 'yaffled' nearby.

There was plenty of rubbish and litter, spread by those enjoying the previous run of fine days and a bicycle and small scooter, long submerged in the river were hauled out, the river level being low enough to see them. 

The new hedgerow plants, planted two weeks before by volunteers, together with those planted a year ago also by volunteers, were inspected and found to be doing very well, all coming into leaf, although very small when planted.

The wild Blackthorn hedges all have spectacular blossom this year;

it's usually the first hedgerow plant to blossom, well before its

leaves appear. 

Hopefully there will be no severe frosts this spring to destroy it as the fruits in autumn are a main food source for many birds, both residents and migrants in the winter, together with our diverse inhabitants, the small mammals. Last year there was a dearth of fruits, seeds and nuts just about everywhere in the countryside - we are hoping for a far better year.

 

Lesser Celandine appears on our February Meet 2022

 OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT IOUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALNONG THE RIVERSIDE

Our February Meet was held on Sunday 27th February over a week after the first of a series of storms hit the country. Thankfully only a few weak trees and branches were blown down, leaving the mighty Oaks, Field Maples and other landmarks here standing, amidst carpets of small lichen-covered twigs and branches. Wildlife hunkered down during the worst of the wind, with the river banks and vegetation providing shelter. The rivers rose but not exceptionally and the levels soon reduced.

The day of our Meet was fine and bright with the first of the LesserCelandines flowering along the banks. 

Fortunately the amount of rubbish along the paths and on the river banks was far less than on January's Meet despite the action of the storm winds.

One of Wordsworth favourite flowers, the Lesser Celandine were beginning to appear on the banks  - always a good sign that spring is approaching. (see Hills Farm Wildlife Conservation for picture).

A Frosty Start - the first Meet of 2022 January 30th

 OUR AIM IS TO PROTECT OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE HABITAT IT PROVIDES FOR WILDLIFE ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

January 30th 2022 started cold and frosty, remaining bright all day with a fresh SW breeze. The river was low after little rainfall over the previous weeks. This revealed the presence of some long-submerged trolleys together with some more recent ones. Fortunately conditions were good and they could be reached from the river banks. It was a successful morning, with five bags of rubbish, a traffic cone and four supermarket trolleys collected.

Birds were singing loudly, with Great Ts calling although no match for the Robins and Dunnocks . There were very good views of a Nuthatch calling from a bare tree.

The mature Oaks were the last large trees to looses their

leaves but fresh new leaf buds appeared even before the old leaves had fallen.

By 20th January this Oak had lost its old leaves and the new leaf buds were

growing well. Will there be acorns this year? It's too soon to tell.

December, the last meet of 2021 - and a look back

Our Meet on 19th December 2021 took place on a very misty morning but there was a good turnout with plenty to do. Song Thrushes were now singing after a long silence over the autumn. Robins, wrens, and Dunnock were heard too. A Little Egret was seen early on over the river, brilliant white even in the mist.

Looking back it seems that the brief summer was a long time ago - a short season, here one day and gone the next, no endless days with gradual mellowing of fruits and ripening berries. The fruit trees all did well but at different times, as intended.

The fruits of late August. 

Note that there are plenty more in the background, on other trees, at different stages of ripening. The weather then became cooler and cloudy but in September became hot again.

The contrasts continued with sighings of hardy dragonflies such as Common Darters and butterflies such as Red Admirals continuing  activity late into the year. Perhaps this will be the future pattern, with larger swings from hot to cold and cold to hot throughout the year....

November - Autumn leaves at last!

A brilliant turnout on a brilliant day - our meet on Sunday 28th November 2021 took place on a fine sunny day but cold, with patches of ice in places. The sun had brought out the birds which lost no time in foraging rapidly through the trees, where even the oaks were losing leaves now.

Most leaves on this tough old oak were turning yellow  and some 

very small leaf buds were appearing but there was no sign of any acorns.

Fallen leaves did not pose a problem for the group. Left where they fall, 

leaves provide habitat for insects and protect the ground underneath

from frost and ice. Most birds and small mammals instinctively 

throw leaves aside, scrabble and dig underneath in order to uncover

insects and spiders, a rich source of food.

The group, including very welcome visitors, went for the worst areas for litter and discarded rubbish

and made short work of the task whilst two of the group continued with the ongoing survey of possible candidates for the ancient and veteran tree inventory in the district. Plans are being made for the planting of more hedgerow trees in the late winter to fill existing gaps.